Condos and interior damage--who should pay?

January 5, 2011 - Sylvia Heldreth

Damage inside the walls of a condominium unit are usually the responsibility of the unit owner. The Florida Condominium Act addresses the insurance and casualty repair obligations of the association but unit owners insure their own floors, walls, and ceiling coverings, appliances including water heaters, electrical fixtures, built-in cabinets and counter tops, and window treatments because they know that they will have to pay for damages, whatever the cause.

When an upstairs neighbor suffers a toilet leak and water causes damage below, the damage to the downstairs neighbor's walls is their responsibility to fix because the damage is inside their unit.